by Hammed Sonny | Oct 27, 2021 | London
(Written by Callum Madle)
London is an incredibly diverse and populous city with a total population of 9 million people. It should therefore come as no surprise that within such a large city an amazing plethora of different languages are spoken. Overall, the most widely spoken foreign languages in London are Polish, Bengali, and Gujurati, with these languages also being amongst the most widely spoken in the country.
But specifically, within the London boroughs, which foreign languages are the most widely spoken? According to the 2011 Census – the most recent and accurate data for languages in London and the UK – Polish, Turkish, Bengali, and Lithuanian to name a few, comprise the many different languages spoken within the London boroughs.
Polish
The Polish language is the most widely spoken foreign language in 7 different London boroughs. These include Barnet, Bromley, Ealing, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond, and Wandsworth. Polish is a Slavic language that is part of the Indo-European language family, and is spoken by an estimated total of 147,816 speakers in London. It is also the second most widely spoken foreign language in the UK and is spoken by 40 million people around the world.
Turkish
Turkish is the most widely spoken foreign language in 4 of the London Boroughs. The boroughs within which Turkish is most popular are Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, and Islington. In London as a whole, the Turkish language is spoken by 71,242 people, with this number accounting for 4.1 % of the non-English speaking population of the capital. Turkish is the most widely spoken Turkic language, spoken by approximately 79 million people globally.
Bengali
Bengali, also known as Bangla, is a member of the Indo-Aryan language family. It is spoken most prominently in three London Boroughs. These boroughs are Camden, Newham, and Tower Hamlets. The Bengali language is spoken by 114,267 people in the capital, and, in fact, out of the three London Boroughs where the language is spoken, Tower Hamlets has the highest number of Bengali speakers in the entire country.
French
French, a Romance language from the Indo-European language family, is a popular foreign spoken in a total of three of the London Boroughs. These include City of London, Hammersmith & Fulham, and Kensington & Chelsea. There are 84,191 French speakers in total in London, and as of 2014, there were an estimated 300,000 French citizens living in the capital.
Punjabi
The Punjabi language, part of the Indo-Aryan language family, is spoken the most in three London Boroughs, namely Bexley, Hillingdon, and Hounslow. 68,525 people in total speak Punjabi in London and the language is spoken by 273,000 people in the UK, making it the second most widely spoken foreign language in the country.
Tamil
Tamil, one of the Dravidian languages, is the most widely spoken foreign language in three London Boroughs, including Croydon, Kingston, and Sutton. 70,565 people speak Tamil in the capital, and globally the language is spoken by an estimated 75 million people.
Gujurati
Gujurati, one of the Indo-Aryan languages, is the second most popular foreign language spoken in Brent and Harrow. This language is spoken by 101,676 people in total in the capital, and by 213,094 people across Britain. While most of the Gujurati speakers in London and the rest of the UK speak Standard Gujurati, some also speak a dialect of the language known as Kutchi.
Lithuanian
Lithuanian is spoken most notably in Barking and Havering. In total, the Lithuanian language is spoken by an estimated 35,341 people in London. Lithuanian is a Baltic language and is part of the Balto-Slavic group of languages within the Indo-European language family. It is the official language of Lithuania and is also one of the official languages of the European Union.
Urdu
The Urdu language is the most widely spoken foreign language in the London boroughs of Redbridge and Waltham Forest. In total, Urdu is spoken by 78,667 people in London and is also the fourth most widely spoken foreign language in the UK, spoken by an estimated 269,000 people. Urdu is a member of the Indo-Aryan language family and is spoken globally by 170 million speakers.
Foreign Languages Spoken Most Prominently in One London Borough
The following languages are listed as the second most spoken languages (the primary language spoken being English) in only one London borough. In Westminster, Arabic is listed as the second most language. Additionally, in Greenwich, Nepalese is the most widely spoken foreign language. In the London Borough of Lambeth, Portuguese is in fact the most widely spoken foreign language, and in Southwark, Spanish is also the most widely spoken foreign language.
In Conclusion
A wide array of foreign languages are spoken throughout the 32 different London boroughs, from across the spectrum of different language families from around the world. It is surely no coincidence that London is one of the most linguistically diverse cities in the world. If you should require translation of any of the most common foreign languages spoken in the London boroughs, such as Polish, Bengali, Gujarati, Lithuanian, Urdu, Punjabi, or any other language, you would benefit from the help of a Crystal Clear Translation interpreter or translator. At Crystal Clear Translation, you will find many efficient and reliable translators able to navigate the intricacies of many different languages – click here for a quote.
by Hammed Sonny | Oct 11, 2021 | Refugees
Written by Callum Madle and Shannon Walker.
Turkey is home to the largest worldwide refugee operation with nearly 4 million refugees having fled to the country. With the continuous impact of conflict, it has become paramount for individuals to be able to seek refuge in a safer environment. 99% of refugees within Turkey are Syrian, with the remaining proportion coming from countries such as Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
The varying array of culture and ethnicity has meant that multiple languages are known to be spoken throughout the refugee communities. Whilst Arabic is commonly used by humanitarian organisation members to communicate, many other languages are still utilised- but what is to be considered the lingua franca of refugees in Turkey?
Dari and Farsi
Dari and Farsi are both Indo-Iranian languages spoken throughout Afghanistan and Iran. Farsi, a moniker for the Persian language, shares a number of distinguishing similarities with Dari, however both remain as separate dialects. Within the Turkish refugee community, Dari and Farsi are considered minority languages, with only a small proportion of refugees as native speakers. With an increased prevalence of Arabic dialect, Dari and Persian speakers face a language barrier, with the means for appropriate translation and interpretation.
Arabic (Modern Standard Arabic, Levantine Arabic)
3.6 million refugees in Turkey are from Syria, where Arabic is the sole official language. Many humanitarian organisations in the country use Arabic to communicate with the Syrian refugees. However, there are a variety of different Arabic dialects spoken by the Syrian refugees in Turkey.
For instance, Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is spoken by just 686,000 people in the country. Another Arabic dialect spoken by refugees in Turkey is called North Mesopotamian Arabic (520,000 speakers in Turkey). A significant number of Arabic speakers in Turkey speak a dialect known as North Levantine Arabic (spoken by an estimated total of 1.13 million people in Turkey). North Levantine Arabic is one of the dialects that comprises the Levantine Arabic language group, also known as Shami. The different dialects of Arabic spoken in Turkey by refugees are classified as minority languages.
Kurmanji
Although the majority of refugees in Turkey are from Syria, there are an estimated 370,000 refugees of different nationalities in the country. Not all the refugees, primarily from Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan, speak Arabic. In fact, another significant lingua franca spoken by refugees in Turkey is Kurmanji. The Kurmanji dialect of the Kurdish languages is spoken by an estimated 8.15 million people in Turkey. Out of that number, 3 million of those Kurdish speakers in Turkey are monolinguals. Kurmanji derives from the Indo-European language family, and uses a Latin script, known as the Hawar alphabet. The dialect is also a subject-object-verb (SOV) language, utilises the female and male gender forms, and four grammatical cases.
The use of the Hawar alphabet, as well as the Kurmanji dialect in general, has been heavily suppressed in Turkey. It was previously illegal to speak Kurdish in public in Turkey until the 1990s. Moreover, the Turkish government does not formally recognise the Hawar alphabet, although in 2013, the letters Q, W and X (commonly used in Kurmanji and Sorani Kurdish dialects) were legalised for use in official documents (such as ID cards), publishing and advertising.
Sorani
Another of the Kurdish dialects spoken by refugees in Turkey is Sorani. Like Kurmanji, Sorani is a subject-verb-object (SVO) language. In contrast to Kurmanji, the Sorani dialect utilises a Persian-Arabic alphabet, like Farsi, and does not use a gender distinction. This dialect is spoken primarily by Iranian and Iraqi refugees in Turkey, and to some extent by Syrian refugees.
Learning the Turkish language
In order to enable refugees to gain better language skills, The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), has been offering individuals the opportunity to learn basic Turkish language skills. With a particular focus on younger people, the classes offer valuable lessons which will enable ease of living in Turkey. Many refugees have already benefited from the project and have reported that learning Turkish has made them feel more included in society, with communication becoming easier. With this in mind, multiple new opportunities are arising, resulting in a better quality of life for the refugees of Turkey.
In Conclusion
While most of the refugees in Turkey are from Syria and are speakers of the North Levantine Arabic and North Mesopotamian Arabic dialects, Arabic is not necessarily the lingua franca of all refugees in Turkey. In fact, a significant number of refugees in Turkey are speakers of the Kurdish languages (like Kurmanji and Sorani), as well as the Farsi and Dari languages. Therefore, translators and interpreters for humanitarian agencies in Turkey, and other countries that have taken in refugees, should be equipped to communicate in a variety of languages, rather than just Arabic.
by Hammed Sonny | Oct 6, 2021 | Remote Interpreting
Written by Callum Madle.
COVID-19 has greatly impacted upon the income of freelance language services, especially translation and interpretation services. Between January and June 2020, those working in translation services saw their income decrease by 8% and those working in interpretation services saw their income decrease by 24%.
The significant decline in income for those working in interpreting services is primarily a result of the abrupt end to face-to-face events at which interpreters would find employment, such as conventions, conference centres, courtrooms and meetings.
To deal with the steep decline in their income, interpreters have had to adapt, using video conferencing on Zoom and Microsoft Teams, or interpreting via telecommunications. Now, with companies such as Microsoft, Spotify, Twitter and Facebook allowing employees the option to work from home, will services that operate as part of the new WFH (working from home) system, such as remote interpreting, continue to increase in demand?
What are the different types of interpreting?
Previous to the pandemic, the most popular type of interpreting was traditionally onsite interpreting. There are plenty of examples of on-site interpreting in action, for example at political conferences, translating in court or in the healthcare system. There are several distinctive types of onsite interpreting, those being simultaneous, consecutive and whispered interpreting:
- Simultaneous interpreting involves the interpreter relaying the speaker’s words in real time to the client in the same room, preserving the ease of flow of the speech of the speaker. This type of interpreting is used most prominently in business, but can also be used for instance during speeches or presentations.
- Consecutive interpreting is a back-and-forth process; the client speaks, after which the linguist translates their dialogue allowing the other party to process and respond to what they have said.
- Whispered interpreting involves the interpreter translating for one or two people, in which conservation might be spoke at a hushed tone. Unlike the aforementioned forms of interpreting, this service is provided to a much smaller number of people, usually for private meetings.
In contrast, as a result of the pandemic, most clients are seeking remote interpreting. Unlike on-site interpreting, neither the client or the interpreter are in the same location. Remote interpreting has been utilised in some of the same areas and industries as on-site interpreting, such as courtrooms, healthcare and the business sector. The main types of remote interpreting are Telephone Interpreting (OPI), Video Remote Interpreting (VRI), Remote Simultaneous Interpreting (RSI), and remote consecutive interpreting (RCI):
- Telephone Interpreting, or over the phone, is a service of interpreting delivered over the phone between a number of different parties, during which the interpreter communicates between the two parties via the telephone.
- Video Remote Interpreting is delivered through different video communication software, such as Microsoft Teams, Skype or Zoom. One benefit of this type of interpreting in comparison to telephone interpreting is that the linguist can pick up on helpful visual cues between the different clients.
- Remote Simultaneous Interpreting is also provided using video communication software or via telephone. It is usually provided at online events such as webinars, online conferences or panel-based discussions.
- Remote Consecutive interpreting is also provided via video conferencing software. It is used for online business meetings, interviews or negotiations.
Why is remote interpreting beneficial to customers?
The healthcare system is one of the markets with the highest demand for both on-site and remote interpreting. As a consequence of the precautions the healthcare system has had to take due to the widespread impact of the pandemic, such as the need for social distancing and PPE (protective personal equipment, on-site interpreting now raises a great deal of complications that have affected its effectiveness. There is still the possibility to continue some form of face-to-face interpretation when it is necessary and unavoidable, for instance in the context of end of life care.
However, remote interpreting is more beneficial to the healthcare system as well as for many other different employers in the long term, as it can be less expensive than face-to-face interpreting. For example, the use of video conferencing or telephone interpretation reduces the need for employers to cover the cost of travelling to and from one site to another.
Remote interpreting also makes it easier and more convenient for employers to get in contact with interpreters. Due to an increased ease of access of interpreters for a multitude of different languages, employers can simply contact interpreters via telephone or video conferencing software, and put them in contact with the person whom they need to translate or interpret. Although this ease of demand has meant that some employers can contact interpreters at very short notice, the convenience and flexibility of employing a remote interpreter highlights the advantage of remote interpreting to employers.
In Conclusion
It seems highly likely that some of the new workplace systems and ideas introduced during the pandemic, like working from home and the increased demand for remote interpreting, are here to stay for a long time. Considering that plenty of companies across a variety of different industries like Aviva (insurance), Utilita (energy company), and technology companies like Facebook and Twitter, have decided to allow their employees to work from home permanently, many face-to-face events may no longer be as prominent or necessary as was once the case.
Therefore, at Crystal Clear Translation, we have already adapted to the fluctuations that have occurred in the last year. We offer both telephone interpreting and remote interpreting services to our customers, as well as any other non-face-to-face interpreting and translation services.
If you should require translation or interpretation of any languages or dialect, you may be interested in the excellent services provided by Crystal Clear Translation. At CCT, we employ many efficient and reliable translators able to navigate the intricacies of many different languages and cultures. Click here for a quote if you should need interpretation or translation services in a multitude of different languages.
by Hammed Sonny | Sep 27, 2021 | Asia
The Malayalam language is spoken mainly in India. Part of the Dravidian family of dialects, Malayalam is a tongue with a rich cultural background.
Status
Malayalam is present within many regions of India. Most prevalent in the Indian state of Kerala, it is also spoken in smaller vicinities such as Lakshadweep and Puducherry. Within these regions, Malayalam has official language status. Overall, there are approximately 34 million native speakers nationwide.
As well as in these larger areas, smaller cluster communities also utilise the dialect. Most of these speaking areas are neighbouring states surrounding Kerala. These places include Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka, Nilgiris, Kanyakumari and Tamil Nadu.
Malayalam History
Out of all of the Dravidian languages, Malayalam is in fact the youngest of them all. Other languages in the family include Tamil, Kota, Kodagu and Kannada. The Malayalam dialect is most similar to Tamil, and it took around 5 centuries for it to evolve and establish itself as an official language. During this time, languages such as Sanskrit and Tamil were considered working languages; being used within business and educational settings. These two have influenced the development of Malayalam.
Vocabulary
As mentioned earlier, the language has taken inspiration from many other Indian dialects, like that of Sanskrit- using multiple loanwords day to day. Furthermore, the influence of Europeans has also had a significant impact on the evolution- languages such as English and Portuguese are known to have links to the vocabulary. Interestingly, some languages also take influence from Malayalam too.
Writing and script
The most used script in the Malayalam language is Kolezhutu – which has derived from the Grandha script. The pronunciation varies between locations, which includes accents and grammar too.
There are multiple different media materials that are printed in Malayalam. This includes 170 plus newspapers and magazines. The Malayalam language is used richly within the media of Kerala, and the continuous spread of the dialect throughout other regions too. One example of the growing language status is the fact that Malayalam is now being taught in educational settings across many regions.
Final thoughts
Malayalam is an incredibly fascinating language. There is a lot of history and culture surrounding the development of the language, and today it is utilised greatly within many regions of India. It is also apparent how it is continually evolving through the influence of European dialects.
Do you require our services?
Should you require a Malayalam Interpreter or Translation service, visit Crystal Clear Translation for a quote.
by Hammed Sonny | Sep 20, 2021 | Asia
Written by Shannon Walker.
Pashto is an incredibly intriguing dialect. With a long-standing historical background, the intricate language is spoken by approximately 35-40 million people across regions of both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Originating in the Helmand/Kandahar regions of Afghanistan, the Pashtun language belongs to the Indo-European family of dialects. The extensive Pashto lexicon has evolved over the centuries with many words being loaned from languages such as that of the Ancient Greeks and Persia, to name a few. It is thought that roughly 5,550 words within the vocabulary are borrowed words. Since its initial introduction in Afghanistan, the script has developed and been refined, meaning an improvement in its clarity.
Pashto In Afghanistan
Pashto accounts for around between 45-60% of native tongue in Afghanistan. It wasn’t until 1936 that it became one of the two official languages of the country, with the second one being Dari Persian. The Pashto dialect is primarily spoken within the east, south and south westerly regions.
Pashto In Pakistan
Mainly based within the northwest area of Pakistan, 15% of the total population have adopted Pashto as their first language. Although many deem this as their mother tongue, Pashto is not considered an official language in Pakistan as it is in Afghanistan. Both Urdu and English are under the title of official dialects.
How Does Pashto Differ Between Regions and Countries?
The language is typically split into two divisions: the southern division and the northern division. They quite simply differ regarding the sound upon pronunciation of words.
Sothern:
SH/ZH sounds
Northern:
KH/GH sounds
Afghanistan Pashto is considered the more traditional of the two, as Pakistan Pashto is influenced by the Urdu language. This means that the dialect spoken by the Pakistani population is less pure to that of the language spoken by Afghan natives- Pashto spoken in Pakistan is commonly mixed with Urdu when spoken.
Something that is very interesting about Pashto is how varied it is as a language. Depending on the specific region that you are in, the verb and noun patterns can change, this is something quite unique about the native language.
Concluding Thoughts
It is safe to say that Pashto, although only prevalent in two countries, is incredibly broad and varies in terms of location. It has also evolved over time, having been influenced by other languages along the way, making it an extremely unique dialect. We can only begin to wonder if the likes of English and Urdu will continue to impact the distinctive language.
Could You Benefit from Our Services?
If you require a Pashto Interpreter (Afghan or Pakistan), then head on over to our website for a quote.
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